Balto. Co. officer's weapon fires in St. Joseph hospital in Towson

A Baltimore County police officer's weapon discharged as he struggled with a prisoner receiving treatment at University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson on Wednesday, police said.

The officer was guarding a prisoner arrested in connection with a burglary who was receiving medical treatment in the hospital's emergency room, according to police.

Police said an altercation broke out after hospital workers discovered the prisoner was hiding a needle in his clothing and the man grabbed a hospital staff member. The officer intervened and was fighting with the prisoner over the officer's weapon when it fired into a wall.

Police said pepper spray was used on the prisoner but that he was not subdued until additional officers arrived.

No injuries were reported, police said. The incident, which occurred about 2:30 p.m., remains under investigation.

The hospital stopped accepting new patients to the emergency department for several hours while police investigated, said Mary Lynn Carver, a spokeswoman with University of Maryland Medical System, in an email. The department was reopened about 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Carver said the rest of the hospital was unaffected and remained open to patients and visitors.

This is the second time this month that a Baltimore County officer's weapon was discharged. Early Saturday morning, Officer Mark Worden fired at 16-year-old Antonio Rashad Green, who police say tried to back over the officer in a stolen minivan in Towson. Green was not injured; Worden was taken to Greater Baltimore Medical Center, where he was treated for injuries and released the same day.